Alumna among Canada's top female entrepreneurs
When the 13th annual Profit W100 list of Canada’s top100 female entrepreneurs came out in October, Concordia graduate Gina Cody made the list for the second consecutive year. What some might find surprising is that Cody hails from Concordia's Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science rather than the university’s business school.
Cody is accustomed to making it onto exclusive lists. In 1989, she became the first woman to be awarded a PhD in Building Engineering at Concordia. Earlier this year, she was named the 2011 Concordia Alumna of the Year, which is a recognition awarded by the Concordia Alumni Society to an alumna or alumnus who has demonstrated professional excellence and community leadership.
Well respected in her industry, she is now a leader within Ontario’s building engineering community as co-owner of Construction Control Inc. (CCI). As CCI’s president, she oversees more than 70 engineers and technologists who test building materials and inspect structures.
Born in Iran, Cody knew from an early age that engineering was her calling, following in the footsteps of her father and three brothers. She obtained her undergraduate degree in structural engineering in Iran before arriving at Concordia to pursue her master's and eventually her PhD through the former Centre for Building Studies, which has since been renamed the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering.
As past chair of the professional practice committee at Professional Engineers Ontario, past president of the Canadian Condominium Institute (Toronto and area chapter), and a committee member of several Canadian Standards Association groups, Cody truly sets the bar high for business leaders in her field regardless of gender.
Related links:
• First Female PhD Graduate in Engineering
• Profit W100 - Canada's Top Women Entrepreneurs
• Concordia’s Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering